CHAPTER SEVENTY NINE – TIME FOR PAYBACK

Scarlett froze, her pulse thundering in her ears as the burly silhouette of another guard emerged from the shadows only yards away. Cornered at the proverbial exit with no obvious means of escape. Her mind raced as she struggled to adopt a mask of harmless bewilderment. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere." She let out an artful titter, twisting a lock of hair around her finger in a show of wide-eyed innocence. "You could say I'm a little turned around in this big place. I was just trying to find my way back to the service entrance." The guard studied her through narrowed eyes for a moment, his bearing radiating menace. Scarlett fought to keep her expression guileless, silently pleading for him to accept her hapless act and dismiss her as a mere nuisance. Finally, he gave a grunt of apparent disbelief. "Yeah? Well you're sure as hell going the wrong way." He jerked his head in the opposite direction. "Service halls are back that way behind the kitchen." His